Gendered Negotiations for Water Management in the High Atlas Mountains

Keywords: water, governance, climate change, North Africa, women
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Saturday
Session Start / End Time: 2/26/2022 09:40 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/26/2022 11:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 67

Abstract

In the face of climate change in Morocco, water is quickly becoming the most important issue that local communities are facing, ability to adapt to growing water scarcity is no longer certain (Schilling et al. 2012). Because water is a source of stress and conflict, it is a place where men and women negotiate priorities and where decision making power is negotiated within households and communities. This project used mixed qualitative and participatory methods to documented knowledge, preferences and priorities for water resource management and watershed protection of men and women in Indigenous communities in the High Atlas Mountains.
Our results highlight difficult trade-offs between two main uses for water: agricultural irrigation and drinking/ domestic water. Water used for agricultural irrigation is exclusively overseen and controlled by men. In the face of water scarcity, men are diverting more water to agricultural irrigation. Access and control over water used for domestic purposes were identified as a key priority for women who bear the responsibility for household water procurement and must sometimes transport water long distances in steep terrain. Rather than being marginalized by climate-induced changes to water access and governance, this is a case where women are becoming more vocal advocates for themselves, and their households’ need for clean drinking water in the face of water scarcity. This may be an exceptional case where resource scarcity and conflict leads to increased power and voice for women in their communities, rather than contributing to their further marginalization (Sultana 2014, Sultana 2018).